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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22382752">explain the infinite</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hadestown - Mitchell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Eurydice gets comforted, F/M, fluffy as heck, if those three tags didn't convince you to read this then nothing will, space metaphors because that's my jam</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:43:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>876</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22382752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Orpheus finds her on the roof.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>explain the infinite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Orpheus found her on the roof.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was nearing closing time when Orpheus had realized he hadn't seen Eurydice in a while. He'd searched the whole bar before finally climbing the rickety ladder in the back room of the bar. The door to the roof was open, and sure enough when Orpheus climbed through it, Eurydice was sitting on the edge of the roof, legs swinging in the air.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Orpheus walked towards her, overexaggerating his steps so that she would hear them. He sat down next to her, resolving not to look down at the emptiness between his feet. "Penny for your thoughts?" He asked quietly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eurydice sighed. "I'm not sure if I can even make sense of them."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Can you tell me why you're up here?" Orpheus asked, putting his hand between him and Eurydice. A few minutes later he felt her hand grab his, entwining their fingers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eurydice started to talk, words slow and hesitant. "Before, well, you know. I used to get overwhelmed a lot. And when that happened, I'd find somewhere high up that I could go. It helped me calm down."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you overwhelmed now?" Orpheus looked over at Eurydice. She was staring up at the sky, as if she might find some sort of answer to her troubles there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"No. I-" Eurydice was silent for a long second before continuing, "I actually think that I'm the happiest I've ever been." She looked away from the sky, but didn't meet Orpheus' eyes, "Being with you is wonderful. You bring light to all of my dark corners. But I'm- I'm so </span>
  <em>
    <span>scared</span>
  </em>
  <span>." Her voice broke on the last word. She took a shaky breath and kept talking. "What if it all goes away. What if </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>go away. I can't go back to my old life. Not now, when I finally know what love is." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Eurydice," Orpheus said, squeezing her hand, "Please look at me." She did. Orpheus could see tears on her face, already drying. He wanted to tell her that he would never leave, that he would stay with her forever, but he knew that he couldn't promise that, not when life was so unpredictable. And it wasn't what Eurydice needed anyways.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Orpheus let go of Eurydice's hand, wrapping her into a hug. She melted into it, burying her face in Orpheus' shoulder. He could feel her sobs reverberate through his body. He tried to comfort her, rubbing slow circles in her back and stroking her hair.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, they broke apart. Orpheus wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but while they had been focused on each other, the sun had started to sink below the horizon. The soft oranges of pinks of the sunset illuminated Eurydice, making her look almost ethereal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They sat in silence for a bit, watching as the colors in the sky dimmed and then turned to an inky black. When the moon started to shine, Orpheus spoke, (quietly, so as not to disrupt the strange peace that had fallen over them). “Eurydice, I need to tell you something. It is very important to me that you know it”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” Eurydice asked. Orpheus looked over at her. At this point he could only see her silhouette, but she looked as beautiful as always. A star in her own right.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Orpheus took a deep breath before beginning. “You don’t need me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I do-” Eurydice interrupted. Orpheus cut her off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t, and I know it,” He ran his hand through his hair, trying to find the words to express what he wanted to say, “Eurydice, you’re- you’re like the moon.” Orpheus pointed upwards, keeping his hand frozen for a few seconds before letting it drop. “Right now, we can see it in all its brightness. But even when we can’t, even when the sky is pitch dark, it doesn’t mean that the moon has disappeared. It’s still there. You’re still brave and wonderful and strong and beautiful. Even when I’m not around to tell you that. Even when you feel like the darkness is closing in on you. You are still there.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That may be true,” Eurydice said, “But the moon cannot shine without the sun’s light reflecting off of it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Orpheus let out a short laugh. “Then perhaps I should change my metaphor. You are the sun, bringing warmth to the world. Showing your light even after the night has fallen. And I am the moon, or the Earth, forever in your orbit.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eurydice didn’t say anything to that. She just grabbed Orpheus’ hand again, holding it tightly. They sat like that for a few minutes, each lost in thought, before Eurydice spoke. “I think it’s best we go back inside.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Orpheus asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Eurydice said. She stood up, helping Orpheus do the same. He breathed a sigh of relief as he managed to get away from the edge of the roof. Eurydice laughed at that, starting her walk back towards the door to the bar.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Orpheus quickly caught up with her. “Not scared anymore?” He asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Eurydice said, “I have no need to be. You’re here.” She turned to look at the sky one last time. She smiled, as if sharing a secret with the stars. “And so am I.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this may have been completely incomprehensible but it was invading every single one of my thoughts so i had to write it. also i headcanon that orpheus is scared of heights and tried to sprinkle that into this fic</p></blockquote></div></div>
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